December, 2006

Season's Greetings !!

Newsletter of the Fort Worth Audubon Society

In this issue: Traveling Birder ­ Conservation Report ­ Chapter News Ornithological Report ­ Field Trips 1 PRESIDENT'S Fort Worth Audubon Society Officers 2006-2007 Pen Position Name Phone email by Lynn Barber President...... Lynn Barber...... 817.361.7131 [email protected] VP Field Trips...... Phil Craighead...... 817.596.3227 [email protected] VP Programs...... D. D. Currie...... 817.451.4086 [email protected] (from the newsletter editor) Treasurer...... Gretchen Hines...... 817.737.4944 [email protected] Secretary...... Donna Erwin...... 817.292.5274 [email protected] I apologize that the Education...... Paula Murphey...... 817-459-3885 [email protected] President's Pen Column did not Newsletter Editor...... Jim Jones...... 817.915.6089 [email protected] make it to press this month. As I Member-at-large...... Simone Jenion...... 817.249.1133 [email protected] mentioned in last month's issue, I Member-at-large...... Steve Fowler...... 817.916.0907 [email protected] was on vacation for two weeks at Member-at-large...... Jean Ferguson...... 817.426.3369 [email protected] the end of November, and I did not Member-at-large...... Gail Morris...... 682.429.2811 [email protected] realize Lynn had not submitted her OSFH Project Coord...... Phil Craighead...... 817.596.3227 [email protected] article until it was too late. Ornithology...... Greg Keiran...... 817.282.3312 [email protected] Conservation...... Jim Sipiora...... 817.860.5984 [email protected] I am certain that Lynn would Membership...... Ann Hoover...... 817.496.4437 [email protected] have wrote about all of the activities Hospitality...... Mariane Midgley...... [email protected] planned for our special event to Hospitality Co-Chair...... Mary Lee Johnson..... 817.909.4207 [email protected] celebrate the Fort Worth Audubon's Publicity...... Jim Jones...... 817.915.6089 [email protected] 65th Anniversary. To start, we will Subscriptions / Mailing..... Hester Schwarzer...... 817.265.0777 [email protected] hold our January General Meeting Count Leader...... Daniel Floyd...... 817.263.1191 [email protected] on January 11th at the Crowne Volunteer Coordinator..... Dale Roberts...... 817.577.2090 [email protected] Plaza Suites in Arlington. The TX Audubon Rep...... Bob Scott...... 817.282.1372 [email protected] meeting will begin at 6:30 with a TX Audubon Rep...... Bill Lawrence...... [email protected] social hour, and refreshments will TCEA Rep...... Ann Halligan...... 817.429.6023 [email protected] be served. A number of special Webmaster...... Bob Smith...... 817.237.9747 [email protected] guests have been invited and the board hopes that all of the membership will come out and We are happy to announce that Fort Worth Audubon is starting this new year share all of your memories of the with all of the officer positions filled. The FWAS Board holds a meeting on great accomplishments FWAS has the first Thursday of every month from September through May, and one done in the Tarrant county area all-day meeting in July. All FWAS members are allowed to attend board these last six and one-half decades! meetings. If you would like to attend and view the proceedings, please contact Our anniversary meeting is one of the board officers for the time and place of the meeting. also being held in conjunction with our hosting of the Ornithological Society Winter Please Join Us. Get involved! Meeting which starts the next day on Friday and runs through the Our Next General Meeting weekend. See page 3 for more on TOS. Thursday, December 14, at 7:30 PM The Crowne Plaza is located at 700 Avenue H East, Arlington, The Work Life of a Journeyman 76011. Call the hotel for directions at 817-394-5000, or go to their University Ornithologist website: by Terry Maxwell www.crowneplaza.com/arlingtonsuite Again, I apologize for the Terrywill present a discussion introducing us to the world of a lateness of this newsletter issue. I hope all of you have a wonderful full-time teaching professor in the studies of Ornithology. He began holiday season, and I look forward his career in 1967, and has travelled extensively in pursuit of bird to meeting you at the anniversary celebration. and mammal faunal investigations in North, South and Central Sincerely, Americas. Terryhas also been writing the newspaper column Jim Naturally Texas, for seven years. Please join us!

2 Recent Club News and Events

OLD STATE FISH HATCHERY WORKDAY Please REMEMBER October 28, 2006 by Phil Craighead the extended weekend of A workday was held at the January 11-15, 2007! Old State Fish Hatchery, located south of Lake Worth in Fort Worth, on October 28, 2006. A total of 76 FWAS will host the Winter Meeting of the people participated, including representatives from Fort Worth Texas Ornithological Society on those dates. Audubon Society, Lockheed Martin Aerospace, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and the Tarrant County Young Marines. Lockheed Martin D. D. Currie chaired the planning of the event, provided lunch and special tee shirts and several members assisted her to bring all of for all participants. the planned activities together. We can still use All objectives were met, volunteers to make the meeting run smoothly including maintenance and expansion of the Butterfly Garden, over the 3-day event. Call D.D. Currie or Dale litter removal, levee repair, nest box Roberts if you would like to volunteer. maintenance, trail clearance, erection of a second viewing screen and initiation of exotic plant removal. Thanks to all who came You must register if you plan to attend. and participated, making the event a Go to the webpage great success. Special thanks go to those who led the various activities. www.texasbirds.org/_mgxroot/page_10729.html The Old State Fish Hatchery and download the registration packet. is available for birding between the hours of 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM Monday through Friday. Driving Guest speakers lined up for Friday night is Jeff directions have been posted on the Fort Worth Audubon Society web Gunnels from TX Parks and Wildlife who will site (fwas.org.) Be sure to check in at the fisheries office when you speak about the Richland Creek Wildlife arrive. Also, it is a good idea to call Management Area. Warren Pulich is scheduled before, to make sure that the gate is open (817-732-0761 or to speak at the Saturday evening's banquet. 817-737-69312.) By the way, the viewing Mark your calander and join us to make this screens work great and provide a good opportunity for close study of a meeting TOS members will talk about and the ducks. remember.

Please patronize these special friends of Fort Worth Audubon Wild Bird Center / Fort Worth Wild Bird Center / Watauga Wild Birds Unlimited / Fort Worth 4634B SW Loop 820 8436 Denton Highway 6033 Camp Bowie Blvd Tel. 817.737.4944 Tel. 817.514.8804 Tel. 817.735.8677 Gretchen & Sonny Hines Maureen & Rex Hall Todd & Angel Hurt Wild Birds Unlimited Wild Bird Center Russell Feed & Supply Marshall Grain Co. Arlington Denton Fort Worth Fort Worth 4629 Cooper St, Suite 125 1601 Brinker Rd #109 1621 N. Crowley Rd 2224 Lancaster Ave. Tel. 817.417.9797 Tel. 940.484.2473 Tel. 817.297.9756 Tel. 817.536.5636 Roger & Pat Carbone Nancy Collins & Owen Yost

3 TRAVELING BIRDER

Panhandle Possibilities in Winter Geese) and ducks, and has harbored wintering Long-eared Owls, as well as Barn and Great Horned by Lynn Barber Owls, and both Bald and Golden Eagles. Before you turn around for home, you can take The Texas Panhandle is a magnet to me. Every a final jaunt up to Texline, right on the Texas border time I have a few winter days where I could sneak off (another 36 miles) and into the Santa Rita Grasslands to go birding, I am strongly drawn to heading there. just east of there to look for rarities. Some of the For those of you who don’t routinely hop in the car previously reported wintering birds from there include and take a weekend trip to go birding, it may seem like Cassin’s Finches, Black-billed Magpies (not recently), the Panhandle is too far away to consider. But if you Long-eared Owls (Unit 18 in the Grasslands), and can stand to drive 350 miles, you could find yourself at Northern Shrikes. the northeastern edge of and very near the tip top of I have only hit some of the highlights and the Panhandle, in Canadian, Texas (no, not Canada possibilities of the Panhandle. You need to try it itself). yourself to see what might be there. And, be sure to Over the years, birders have pulled the most take along Birding Texas by Roland Wauer and Mark amazing northern birds out of the Panhandle, Elwonger. It will help you find the places mentioned particularly in winter. You never know when it’s going above and give you ideas for other places to explore. to be an “eruption” year, when birds will wander far south of their normal ranges. If they do, the Texas Panhandle sticks up into the Midwestern plains, just waiting to intercept their wanderings. CONSERVATION by Jim Sipiora You could limit your Panhandle birding to the Canadian area. Lake Marvin just east of Canadian can (exerpts from Bird Watcher's Digest) have Tundra Swans, and certainly will have many Researchers in New York state discovered that ducks. The brushy areas near waterways like the Common Loons have elevated levels of mercury, Canadian River can hold American Tree Sparrows. which leads to lethargy and poor reproduction. The And, as Simone Jenion and I found in our 2005 Big study also found high levels of mercury in Wood Thrushes, whose population has declined 45% in Year adventure, trees along the road can have bobcats recent decades. None of the songbirds tested showed looking down upon you! Wherever there are fields mercury levels as high as Wood Thrushes. The levels around you, winter raptors, such as Rough-legged and are considered high enough to affect reproduction. The Ferruginous Hawks and Prairie Falcons, are also state has proposed cutting mercury emissions from possible. New York power plants by 50% by 2010, but much of If you have a bit more time, you can explore the mercury drifts into the state from plants in the the area between Canadian and Dalhart, which is way Midwest. across the top of the Panhandle in the northwestern The Golden-winged Warbler may be the most corner. The trip across (150 miles or more, depending threatened bird in the Northeastern U.S. Habitat loss your route), especially if you take in Lake Meredith, and hybridization with the slightly more adaptable can produce many more of the winter raptors; plus, in Blue-winged Warbler are believed to be responsible. Ron Canterbury of Concord University says that the really good years, a stray Northern Shrike on the top bird could be totally gone in the next 10 to 20 years. of one of the rare saplings out in a field, Red The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is Crossbills and Bohemian Waxwings in a park or studying Canterbury’s research to see if Golden-wings cemetery of one of the little towns, as well as possible should be added to the Endangered Species list. flocks of longspurs, Horned Larks, and flocks of The population of Tricolored Blackbirds blackbirds possibly including Yellow-headed in the dropped from millions to 370,000 by 1994. By 2000 it fields. If you are traveling near dawn or dusk, you will was down to 152,000. Urban sprawl and agricultural certainly see the introduced, but countable, development have decimated the species’ preferred Ring-necked Pheasants along the roads and in the grassland and wetland habitats. The Center for fields. If you want to check out a huge waterfowl Biodiversity in San Francisco has petitioned the concentration for rarities, stop at Cactus Playa, a big USFWS to have the bird listed as an endangered lake (not on most maps) just east of Cactus on 281 in species. (continued on page 5) Moore County. Once you get to Dalhart, go to Lake Rita Blanca which usually hosts an astounding number of wintering geese (many, many Canada and Snow

4 Conservation (continued) The total of 224 cranes is the highest count ever made at Aransas, with counts going back to 1938. Rusty Blackbirds have shown a population decline of In addition to the 224 cranes at Aransas, there are 8 85-95% since 1950. The loss of boreal forest wetlands cranes in migration still being monitored in Kansas, for breeding and bottomland forests on their wintering including one pair with two chicks. grounds are believed to be responsible for the decline, along with chemical pesticides and high mercury levels Thus, the current estimate for the size of the in the food chain. Aransas-Wood Buffalo flock is 232, 12 higher than the peak population of 220 last winter. The 42 chicks The Cornell Lab of Ornithology asks all birders currently at Aransas is an all-time high, surpassing the to submit any reports at www.ebird.org. Ebird is also a previous high of 34 in 2004. A total of 6 sets of ‘twins’ great way to keep track of all your birding records. Sign are present, also beating the previous high of 4 sets of up now and submit your records if you aren’t already twins in 1958. doing so. It’s easy, it’s fun, it’s science! re-posted on TexBirds with permission from Tom Stehn, Whooping Cranes Reach NEW RECORD Whooping Crane Coordinator, US Fish & Wildlife Service at Aransas An aerial census on 22 November, 2006 of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding areas found 182 adults and 42 chicks = 224 total. ORNITHOLOGY REPORT by Greg Keiran, (H) 817/282-3312 - (W) 817/280-7598, [email protected] Mid-October 2006 to Mid-November 2006 Hills, V after V of geese flew over Arbor Hills. It was so awesome to hear and see. There was one small V of Tarrant County Mallards and two different strings of cormorants as 21 Oct: At VCDB, Yellow-headed Blackbird. well. Best part of the geese was that I added Arbor Charley Amos. Hills checklist bird #165: Greater White-fronted Goose. Perry, Plano 21 Oct: Sprague’s Pipit in short grass along north-east upper drive, an Eared Grebe, newly arrived 1 Nov: Greater Scaup (20): 3 tenths of a mile walk ducks (75 or more Northern Shoveler, plus Northern from the Las Colinas Medical Center on MacArthur. Pintails, Gadwalls, Ruddy Ducks, a single Redhead, Dell Little, Arlington Green-winged Teal, and American Wigeons), many Denton County (20) Scissor-tailed Flycatchers still around, and newly arrived Vesper, Savannah and Song Sparrows. Lynn 2 Nov: White-breasted Nuthatch is a first for my Barber yard, and upon checking Pulich’s volume on The Birds of North Central Texas, this is apparently a “rare” bird 3 Nov: The last couple of days winter sparrows have to have in this area. According to Pulich, the bird was been evident in my yard in southwest Ft. Worth, with formerly common in winter in Tarrant and Denton White-crowned, White-throated (FOS), Field, Counties, but now is seldom seen. My yard is heavily Chipping, and Lincoln‘s Sparrows. Also, wooded with many Tufted Titmice and Carolina Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Orange-crowned Warbler, Chickadees, with which the bird was associating. This and a late Nashville Warbler. And my female Rufous may be a harbinger of more unusual things to show up, Hummingbird continues on. Lynn Barber or perhaps the Nuthatches have decided to come 17 Nov: I had a few minutes between calls today and “home” again. Marilyn Turnage, Flower Mound, Tx stopped by Cement Pond on north Loop 820 to check (Denton Cty) out the ducks. All the usual suspects, but was surprised Haggerman to also see a Common Moorhen. It was in the cattails at the very farthest left arm of the pond as you face it. 22 Oct: Greg Cook and I birded Hagerman this Jeff Scott, Argyle morning, we flushed five Ammodramus sparrows from the low water crossing, all probable Nelson’s North Central Texas Area Sharp-tailed, none seen conclusively, one of my most : 31 Oct: This morning while at Arbor Hills in frustrating birding experiences ever. Ducks are Plano around 7:30 AM, I could see the cold front beginning to come through in numbers, about 2000 approaching from the NW. There was a massive cloud ducks on the refuge right now, 5000 last weekend, next formation that made a clear mark of the front. For the cold front should bring a big wave. Also saw next hour while the front inched its way towards Arbor 5 Ornithological Report (continued) in Rains County and several Myrtle’s for nice comparisons. Matt White numerous Le Conte’s Sparrows on drier fields. 4 Nov: On the afternoon November 4 my daughter, Thomas Natalie, and I went to Lake Tawakoni. The highlights 4 Nov: Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge was included a Pacific Loon (FOS), 1st winter California nothing short of spectacular today. 4000 Redheads, Gull and Dunlin (FOS). On November 5 we returned 2000 Ring-necked Ducks, 1000 Lesser Scaup, 25+ and had a Laughing Gull and two Snowy Plovers (all Greater Scaup, 1500 Snow Geese, 7500 Franklin’s in Rains County). Matt White Gulls, 500 Ring-billed Gulls. The south winds were 18 Nov: The Lake Tawakoni State Park had lots of stacking up migrants in the Big Mineral Arm of Lake Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Texoma. A helicopter flew low over the water and Yellow-rumps, along with several Orange-crowns. scared up 15000 waterfowl. It was absolutely amazing. There were 3 large flocks of American White Thomas Pelicans seen from the park along with hordes of 5 Nov: I went loon hunting yesterday & found 4 cormorants. I counted 36 Horned Grebes and 3 Common Loons at Grandpappy point just south of the Buffleheads.1Common Loon was located in a mass Point. good birding, Lee Lemmon. of Cormorants. There were several other ducks flying 7 Nov: Highlight was an immature Northern Shrike around only Mallard and Gadwall were IDed. on Terry Lane. Karl Haller, Jack Chiles, Jim Pierce, Franklin‘s Gulls are almost gone being replaced by Dick Malnory Lynn & other visitor saw this bird. Jack Bonaparte’s Gulls. Also in the State Park, 1 Rock got a picture we hope it turns out good since this is a Wren and 1 Sedge Wren. Richard Kinney, first bird for Hagerman, Grayson Co. we are checking Edgewood, TX records now. This is also the first Northern Shrike 19 Nov: Ron Baltzegar and I located a few goodies. I’ve seen in Tx. Lee Lemon. Oddly enough most of the birds were at end of road in 14 Nov: The Tues group got 73 sps. in 5hrs. Karl, Jack, an RV Park called Sunny Shores in Van Zandt Co. Dick, Jim, Lynn & myself were in the group. Lamont Highlighted by a California Gull. Also here was an Brown from Denton went with us. Also Dick & Judi adult Bald Eagle and juvenile Crested Caracara.I May, Beavers Dams, NY, Bernie & Barbara Horowitz, counted 15 Herring Gulls. There were so many Gulls Frisco Tx. were there for a part of the day. We it was hard to sort them all. There was a massive horde probably have 7500+ ducks on the Refuge. About 3000 of Double-crested Cormorants and White Pelicans. Snow & Ross’s, White fronted & a few Canadas. The There was one Loon here and several Horned Grebe. highlight was a Merlin on Q pad. No Northern Shrike I also suspect that there might be 3 or 4 California since last Tues. Lee Lemmon. Gulls on the lake. Richard Kinney, Edgewood, TX 18 Nov: Twenty years ago or so, the appearance of just 19 Nov: I had a very productive morning at Lake one Ross’ Goose used to be a rarity to marvel over at Tawakoni yesterday. Highlights included (all in Rains Hagerman NWR, as I well remember. Now they are County): 1 Red-throated Loon,1Pacific Loon,1 very regular and easy to find in large numbers (1,000+) Eared Grebe, 1 Thayer’s Gull 1st winter, 2 at this time of year. It helps to see them in the larger California Gulls 1st winter, 1 Lesser Yellowlegs. numbers because it’s easier to find one to compare with Thayer’s Gull is now an annual visitor here in mid a nearby Snow Goose (whose numbers are still greater fall. I obtained the best photos that I have ever got of than Ross’ Geese.) It was great today to see these two the species. On Saturday afternoon I photographed a species today along with some Blue Goose morphs, flock of 53 Cackling Geese along with 3 Ross’s young Snow Geese with some not-quite-adult plumage, Geese at the Greenville City Lakes in Hunt County. and numerous Greater White-fronted Geese. Connie The Ross’s Geese made the Cackling Geese seem Sandlin, Audubon Dallas large by comparison. I am still unraveling the status of this bird through the area. Matt White Tawakoni Area Collin County 23 Oct: The coldest morning of the season so far - 38 degrees. Birding in the state park was spotty. The 1 Nov: My friend Jerry & I being off work today, numbers of sparrows are slowly increasing. I did see decided to search for a few sparrows at Brockdale my FOS Common Loon and the first park record of Park Trail on Lake Lavon, Collin County. We located Sprague’s Pipit. The Rock Wren continues in the a pair of Le Conte’s Sparrow in a tree on the trail. rocks near the boat launch. Most common sparrows Birding was pretty quiet, as we found some were Swamp and White-throated. Richard Kinney, White-throated sparrows, a couple of Downy Edgewood, TX Woodpeckers but noYellow-rumps or Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Monty Gordon, E of McKinney TX 2 Nov: This morning I had an Audubon’s Warbler - the western race of the Yellow-rumped Warbler -at

6 10th Annual For more information, and to view results, go to Great Backyard Bird Count http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/ February 16-19, 2007 No Fee or registration required. Join with thousand of others to find out how All ages and skill levels welcome. many birds are being seen in your area and across the continent this winter. By participating in the Great Track results in real time online. Backyard Bird Count, you help document where birds Count in your backyard, balcony, schoolyard, park, are, and track changes in their numbers compared to wildlife refuge. previous years, helping scientists paint a picture of the Be a part of the network state of birds this winter.

To view this newletter in Fort Worth Audubon Society color, go to our website at 2006 - 2007 Scheduled Field Trips www.fwas.org and click on the Newsletter link.

DESTINATION DATE LEADER / NOTES The Southwestern Flyer is available on line in 'pdf' Bird Walk in Foster Park...... 12/2/06...... Jean Fergusen file format. Tarrant County Christmas Bird Count....12/16/06...Daniel Floyd VCDB Christmas Bird Count...... 12/26/06...... Jim Sipiora Bird Walk in Foster Park...... 1/6/2007...... Jean Fergusen Texas Ornithological Society Meeting .... 1/11 - 1/14/07....D. D. Currie (Includes several field trips led by FWAS members. See page 3) FWAS vs Dallas Audubon Big Day...... 1/27/07...... Dallas Audubon Bird Walk in Foster Park...... 2/3/07...... Jean Fergusen Lake Benbrook...... 2/10/07...... Simone Jenion Cement Creek Lake...... 2/24/07...... Daniel Floyd (For more field trips scheduled for March through June, go to www.fwas.org) Join us for Birding in the Park For details and updates, 8:30 - 10:00 AM First Saturday of each month visit our website at www.fwas.org September thru April January 6, 2007, Field trips are open to all, members and nonmembers, beginners February 3, March 3, to world-class birders. We especially want to encourage and & April 7. welcome first-time birders to come on our local trips in the Fort Everyone welcome. Worth area. These trips are an excellent way to get started Easy Walking. learning the birds and the best locations and seasons to find them. Binoculars available for use. There are always people on these trips who are willing and able to Guides present to bird answer any question about birds. We try to help everyone see all with you. the birds we find. Don’t let bad weather deter you. Often the best Members, come introduce birding is in the worst weather. Miserable conditions certainly friendly folks and families to the build camaraderie. Come prepared. Warm weather trips may bring wonders of bird watching. mosquitoes, chiggers, etc. Always bring along food and water where; because lunch is always in the field. If you have any questions, call Foster Park Phil Craighead, Field Trip Coordinator, at 817.596.3227, or by on Trail Lake Drive, email: [email protected] 1 mile north of I-20

7 Welcome to our monthly meetings! Sign up now for a Fort Worth Audubon Society The Fort Worth Audubon Society meets the Chapter-only Membership second Thursday of each month, September through May. We offer refreshments at 6:45 PM followed by the meeting at 7:30 PM. All meetings 2006 - 2007 are free and open to the public. where: Single Memberships: $20 UNT Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Couples at same address: $30 Boulevard, Room 100 (across from the elevators on the lower floor of Everett Hall, (Medical Send your name, address, phone number Educational Building 2) and email address to: (go to www.hsc.unt.edu/campusmap/) Easiest entrance is from parking lots A or C off FWAS Membership Clifton Street. Doors are on west end of building, 2901 Hitson Lane lowest level. Fort Worth, TX 76112

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Southwestern Flyer u The Newsletter of the Fort Worth Audubon Society u Published 10 times per year Lynn Barber, executive editor u Jim Jones, managing editor & designer u Paula Murphey & Gail Morris, copy editors Photo credits: Jim Jones u Copyright 2006

FORT WORTH AUDUBON SOCIETY, INC. Non-profit Org Lynn Barber, President U.S. Postage P.O. Box 16528 Fort Worth, TX 76162 PAID Fort Worth, TX Permit No. 867